To become a butterfly

You are a wildfire, destroying everything in your path

Filled with regrets and lashing out in wrath

Your tongue is a whetstone and your words a sword

Selfish to your core, you pretended I was adored

Fool I was, I allowed myself to believe in honeyed lies

My reward was hours wasted in wretched cries

Lying and cheating was part of your venomous game

Yet, you still asked me to take your last name

I was the flower you tried to wilt, yet I still bloom

Chains and locks of agony yet I still escaped your tomb

You never wanted me to know how bright I could shine

Expecting me to never leave your path of serpentine

Diamond ring on my finger masquerading as cuffs

Valiant I became, diluting you with sharp rebuffs

You couldn’t crumble the foundation of my house

One accomplishment of mine is I’m not your spouse

I didn’t let you break me but oh boy did you try

Leaving my cocoon of self protection I’m a butterfly

You thought I would never be brave enough to emerge

Sick with cruelty and violence, I survived your purge

Happy, strong, and loved I now have a heart that sings

Living without fear and misery, I have grown my wings